Category: News

Real Madrid have no new fitness concerns ahead of Wednesday’s Copa del Rey encounter against Celta Vigo at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Defenders Pepe, Marcelo and Fabio Coentrao all remain sidelined, but Sergio Ramos is available after missing the Liga victory over Real Sociedad through suspension.

Boss Jose Mourinho could again overlook Iker Casillas in favour of Antonio Adan, whose red card during the weekend does not rule him out of this clash.

Celta winger Augusto Fernandez returns after serving a one-match ban and missing last weekend’s clash against Real Valladolid.

Defender Samuel misses out with a knee injury, but otherwise coach Paco Herrera has a full squad at his disposal.

• Los Blancos are on a 31-match unbeaten run at the Santiago Bernabeu in all competitions.

• Cristiano Ronaldo’s double against Sociedad took him to eighth in the all-time top scorers list for Real Madrid with 171 goals, level with Emilio Butragueno.

• Celta Vigo have won just four of their last 14 matches in all competitions (W4, D3, L7).

• The Galicians have lost all but one of their away matches this season, with the sole exception being a 1-0 Liga win at Zaragoza.

• However, Celta have beaten Madrid on two of their last three Liga visits to the Bernabeu.

Real Madrid defender Marcelo has offered Cristiano Ronaldo words of support after he missed out on the 2012 Fifa Ballon d’Or at Monday’s annual gala in Zurich.

The Portugal international had to settle for second spot behind Barcelona star Lionel Messi, who won the individual award for the fourth time in succession, but Marcelo has stressed that his team-mate remains an extraordinary player.

“Cristiano Ronaldo was not able to win the Ballon d’Or but we know he is a fantastic player and capable of anything,” Marcelo was quoted as saying on the Madrid website.

“Cristiano helps us a lot and I wanted him to win the prize. I am sure he will bring us a lot of joy.”

Meanwhile, fellow Madrid colleagues Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas offered similar words of encouragement for the former Manchester United man.

“We would have liked Cristiano to have won his second award, but it was not to be, although he is a fantastic player,” Ramos stated.

“With respect to the Ballon d’Or, I think they have been the three best players, and in the end Messi won it.

“I would like to congratulate him from here, but it is a pity, because we wanted Cristiano to get his second Ballon d’Or.”

Ronaldo last won the Ballon d’Or in 2008, and has since finished as runner-up on three occasions.

ANALYSIS
By Chris Myson

Lionel Messi has won his fourth Ballon d’Or title, scooping the prestigious individual award over runner-up Cristiano Ronaldo and third-place team-mate Andres Iniesta.

Radamel Falcao finished up in fifth, behind another Barcelona stalwart, Xavi, while Iker Casillas came in at sixth.

Andrea Pirlo, Didier Drogba, Robin van Persie and Zlatan Ibrahimovic made up a star-studded final top 10 for the calendar year of 2012.

After the awards ceremony, Fifa has released an intriguing list of the full votes for the award, which is decided based on decisions made by international coaches, captains and a selection of media representatives from each member nation.

The voting list reveals some decisions that would raise few eyebrows, but other ones that can be considered as particularly surprising.

FIFA BALLON D’OR 2012 RESULTS
PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL FINAL VOTE
1. LIONEL MESSI 2. CRISTIANO RONALDO 3. ANDRES INIESTA 4. XAVI 5. RADAMEL FALCAO 6. IKER CASILLAS 7. ANDREA PIRLO 8. DIDIER DROGBA 9. ROBIN VAN PERSIE 10. ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC	41.6% 23.68% 10.91% 4.08% 3.67% 3.18% 2.66% 2.6% 1.45% 1.24%

In England’s votes, both manager Roy Hodgson and captain Steven Gerrard voted for the brilliant Messi as their winner, with Ronaldo in second.

They differed with their decisions for third-place, though, as the Three Lions boss went for Falcao, while the Liverpool captain opted for former team-mate Xabi Alonso.

For Spain, boss Vicente Del Bosque, who himself was recognised on the night with the Coach of the Year award, went for three of his own players; Casillas, Xavi and Iniesta in the top three positions.

Casillas himself had a vote and very surprisingly opted for club and international team-mate Sergio Ramos as his No.1 pick, with Ronaldo only second ahead of Iniesta, perhaps hinting at why the Portuguese ace felt his club were not fully supportive of his Ballon d’Or bid.

Messi had a vote as captain for Argentina and did not select Ronaldo in his top three at all, opting for Iniesta, Xavi and Sergio Aguero. Alejandro Sabella voted for Messi, with Ronaldo also absent from his selections.

Portugal matched that tactic, as Bruno Alves, who was voting in place of Ronaldo, went for his team-mate as top pick with Messi not in the top three, although Paulo Bento did name the Argentine in third.

Italy boss Cesare Prandelli voted for his star player Pirlo over Gianluigi Buffon and then Messi, while Buffon himself also went for the Juventus midfielder as his top choice.

Philipp Lahm backed Iniesta over Messi and Ronaldo, while Germany coach Joachim Low voted Mesut Ozil, Manuel Neuer and Xavi as his top three.

France coach Didier Deschamps backed Messi over Ronaldo and Xavi, while Hugo Lloris stayed loyal to the goalkeepers’ union by voting Casillas as No.1 over Falcao and Drogba.

Brazil skipper Thiago Silva’s votes were unremarkable, with Messi beating Ronaldo to top spot and his PSG team-mate Ibrahimovic in third.

Louis van Gaal voted for Messi over Ronaldo and Falcao, while Netherlands captain Wesley Sneijder voted Van Persie over Messi (second) and Ronaldo (third).

Darren Fletcher, who was casting votes as Scotland captain, backed former team-mate Ronaldo at No.1, with Messi and club team-mate Robin van Persie as his other selections.

For a full breakdown of the Ballon d’Or votes, click here to see Fifa’s full list from national captains, coaches and media representatives.

EXCLUSIVE
By Greg Stobart

Andriy Shevchenko has lauded Lionel Messi after winning his fourth consecutive Fifa Ballon d’Or and declared the Barcelona striker “incredible”.

Messi beat team-mate Andres Iniesta and Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo to the prestigious award and became the only player to ever win the prize four times.

Former AC Milan and Chelsea striker Shevchenko has heaped praise on the 25-year-old and argues that despite the strong competition for the title, after scoring 91 goals in a calendar year, 2012 belonged to Messi.

“I think all three nominees were amazing in 2012 but Lionel Messi was something special. To score 91 goals in a full year is unbelievable,” Shevchenko told Goal.com.

“Both him and Cristiano are great but Leo Messi is incredible.”

The former Ukraine attacker, who was also a recipient of the award in 2004, spoke of his own pride at being named the best player of the year, and believes it is one of the pinnacles of any footballer’s career.

“To win the Ballon D’Or was a very special day for me,” he added. “To win the award and be named the best player in the year is something very special in your life.”

Lionel Messi has won the 2012 Fifa Ballon d’Or ahead of Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona team-mate Andres Iniesta.

The Argentine attacker becomes the first player in history to win the Ballon d’Or four times in succession. He previously shared the record of three consecutive victories with Michel Platini, while Dutch duo Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten also won the prize three times.

Messi was unable to help Barcelona to the Liga title in 2011-12 as Real Madrid emerged victorious, while they were eliminated in the semi-finals of the Champions League, yet Messi’s brilliance was enough to help him to individual glory.

The recognition comes after a year in which the 25-year-old broke numerous records, including the most goals scored in a calendar year.

Messi netted an astonishing 91 strikes over the course of 2012 to crush Gerd Muller’s previous record of 85 goals in a year, scoring 79 for Barcelona and 12 more for Argentina.

BALLON D’OR ROLL OF HONOUR | Winners of past five years

One of the highlights for the prolific attacker was his display in the 7-1 Champions League thrashing of Bayer Leverkusen as he found the net five times. Additionally, Messi scored four in the Primera Division wins over Valencia and Espanyol.

Cristiano Ronaldo missed out in the voting after steering Real Madrid to the Liga title with a string of fine performances, and impressing at Euro 2012 as he guided Portugal to the semi-finals of the competition.

Iniesta had to settle for a podium spot after winning the Copa del Rey with Barcelona, and successfully defending the European title with Spain.